


Seeing Colors

by orphan_account



Category: Waterparks (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Developing Relationship, It's Okay, M/M, i mean read it if you want to, if you're into this kinda stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 08:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8837575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Everything was in black and white.Until I saw that boy's eyes.





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> shoutout to waterparks for successfully distracting me while i was trying to write the first chapter so it took me three months lizard king bless

It only sort of helped that it was the Friday before Christmas vacation.  
The clock read 9:45 in AP Algebra, so I had free period in fifteen minutes. I listened to Mr. Robertson drone on about how you shouldn't use ‘x’ as a multiplying symbol as I copied the whiteboard. He used different colored dry-erase markers this lesson, which made it all the harder to read. I was taught the colors in kindergarten, but they all looked like different shades of gray, still. Everything was still in black and white for me and the plethora of kids my age who haven't found their soulmates just yet. Frankly, it was so dull and uninteresting that it made me sad quite often. My friends who already found their soulmates always told me about how everything was so beautiful and bright and amazing after they found each other, and I tried to be supportive but it was getting kind of tiring. I’ve actually avoided Cody and Maxx for a while just because I was jealous.  
“Mr. Wigington, are you listening?” Mr. Robertson asked. I had drifted off during the lesson and had no idea what he said previously.  
“Uh, yeah, yeah. I’m listening.”  
“Can you repeat what I just said?” Oh no.  
“Uh… Mr. Wigingtonareyoulistening?” I mumbled and a good amount of the class laughed.  
Mr. Robertson sighed. “Good enough. Students, you have no homework because of Christmas vacation,” he paused, and a lot of quiet sighs of relief could be heard. “but do not expect me to go easy on you when you return to this class in January.” With that, the bell rang and people started to shuffle out of the room. “Enjoy your Christmas vacation, everyone!”


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hallways and libraries.

Now in my last free period of the school day, I checked my phone while walking down the hallway. Otto had texted me the answers to the Spanish worksheet, so I could fill it out in the library and turn it in before class. I was trying to memorize the answers as I walked to the library when I walked straight into something. I looked up and opened my mouth to say a quick “Sorry!” before running into the library, but me and the person I ran into made eye contact.  
I dropped my rose gold-colored phone.  
“Do… Do you see that?” I gasped.  
“What? I-” His eyes widened and he stepped back. “I… fuck.”  
“Your eyes! They're two different colors!”  
“Shitshitshit-” The boy (with “bubblegum” pink hair) mumbled. “I gotta go.” He ran into the library, which was the opposite direction of where he was walking when I bumped into him.  
I ran after him into the library. “Hey, wait! Wait, please!”  
“Geoff, please, quiet,” The librarian spoke from behind the desk. “Some students are taking a test right now.” Her sweater was gray, poorly matched with a yellow skirt.  
“Sorry, sorry, but I think I just found my soulmate, Ms. Richard!”  
“That's very good, Geoff. But please be quiet.”  
“I will.” I ran off towards the direction of the biographies, where I saw a flash of pink. The boy was right in the ‘K’ section, crouching like he was finding a specific book.  
“You're the boy I ran into in the hallway, right? My name is Geoff. What’s yours? I like your hair, by the way.”  
The boy groaned. “Awsten.” he muttered. “Thank you, but I’m not gay. I must've saw somebody else.”  
I accidentally scoffed and tried to pass it off as a sick cough. “Uh, I don't think there was anyone else in the hallway. You couldn't have saw somebody else.”  
“But I had to! It can't be you!” He yelled and stood. He was about an inch shorter than I was.  
“Keep your voice down!” I whispered. “There are people taking tests. You said your name was Austin, right?”  
“Awsten.” He lowered his voice to match my level. “I thought you would have listened, Gee-off Wigglytown.”  
“It's pronounced like Jeff. How do you know my- Oh wait, we have a class together, don't we?”  
“Woodshop, you idiot.”  
“Yeah, that! I wonder what color wood is…” I drifted off, looking around the room that seemed so plain before, now exploding with colors, dull and bright. “And look at all of this! It's so pretty and bright and-”  
“No. No no no no no, you can't be my soulmate! I’m straight! Maybe it was the last girl I dated, I don't remember her name now. But it's _definitely _not you. I’m not gay. I’m not!”__  
“Well, you could be bi or pan, like I am. Maybe asexual?”  
“Are you not fucking understanding me? I like girls, I like fucking girls, I will always only like girls, and I don't like you. Bye.” He growled before walking away and out of the library, leaving me standing in the middle of the biography section. For some reason, I couldn't believe he had the temerity to lash out at me. I thought he was going to be a really sweet guy. His last comment left me thinking, though; If he was really straight like he said he was, then why would we see colors when we looked around? How come when I looked at him for the first time, I felt like everything in the world was going to be okay? Did he feel like that too? If he's not straight, why is he so uncomfortable being anything else?  
“Hey Geoff, are you okay? You're zoned out, dude.” Otto spoke from behind me and I flinched. I looked at the clock and realized I only had five minutes before free period ended.  
“Oh, hey Otto. Yeah, I was thinking about…” _Shit, what was I gonna say? _“I was thinking about the junior dance tonight. Like, what they're gonna play and stuff. And the Spanish worksheet.”__  
Otto looked suspicious, but he didn't say anything about it. “Did you finish it?”  
“What? Oh, the worksheet? Well, you see, I was too busy thinking about it to finish it. It’s just, what, conjugations, right? It'll only take me a minute. I can fill it out really quickly in class because…” I felt around in my pockets for a folded piece of paper and realized the worksheet was still in my Spanish folder. “I don't have it with me.”  
“You should probably go, then.”  
I nodded. “Yeah, I should go.” I was fairly sure I was breaking a sweat at this point, but I wanted to keep this a secret from Otto until we were in a private space.  
“Are you sure you're alright? You don't look okay.”  
“Haha, I must be catching something!” My phone went off in my pocket, informing me that I was now late to Spanish. My eyes widened.  
“We should run.”  
-  
One minute of sprinting halfway across the school later, Otto and I slid into the Spanish room as Miss Abbott was taking rollcall. The room was filled with bright posters in the Spanish language, all of them different colors. Miss Abbott had quite an affinity for color. The lights were dimmed, but I recognized someone sitting in my seat. His hair was pink, and his eyes were two different colors. Otto’s assigned seat was on the other side of the classroom, to keep us from talking to each other during the lessons, but he couldn't help me now as he sat in his seat quietly.  
“What are you doing here, Awsten? You're sitting in my seat.” I whispered to the boy who was attentively listening to Señora Abbott.  
“Awsten Knight?” Miss Abbott called. So _that’s_ what his last name was.  
“Here.” He spoke. I took a moment to realize his voice was beautiful. “Trimester three starts today, you idiot. So I'm gonna be stuck with you in this class until school ends.”  
“I would like that.” I smiled.  
“You’re fucking creepy.” He whispered.  
“Geoff?”  
“Aquì, Señora.”  
“Otto?”  
“Here, Señora.”  
“Alright. Since today is the start of trimester three, we're going to create a new seating chart. Your assigned seats are going to be where you sit today.” The new students sighed and switched with one another to be closer to their friends, but it appeared that Awsten didn't have any friends here as he didn't even stand up. A new kid switched seats with Otto, so he was sitting next to me now.  
“Hey. Who's this?” Otto addressed Awsten.  
“This is Awsten. We met in the library today. Awsten, that’s Otto. He's been my best friend since third grade.”  
Awsten looked disinterested. “Yeah. Hi.”  
“He’s a little moody, isn't he?” Otto whispered to me.  
“Yeah, I guess. But once, you get to know him, I think he's a great person.”  
“Yeah, that's gonna take a _while_.” Awsten said.  
“Oh, already listening in our conversations?” Otto questioned.  
“It's what I do.”  
“Awsten, pay attention please,” Miss Abbott said. “How many of you new students this trimester have been in the class before?”  
Most of the new students raised their hands, except for Awsten and another kid who was holding a classmate’s hand like their life depended on it. I guessed that person was their soulmate.  
“And you, what's your name?” She pointed to the kid. They shrunk down into their chair.  
“His name is Anthony, ma’am. He has social anxiety.” The girl who was holding his hand spoke. He might be transgender, I thought; he had a very feminine face.  
“Green, yes? You are a very charming boy, Anthony.” She smiled. She continued on about the last trimester for a few minutes, then made the girl that Anthony was holding hands with pass out a worksheet. When she came around to pass the paper to our table, I thanked her and she silently nodded. The sheet was just a survey of what we already knew in Spanish, to which I checked every box off. Otto and I had been in this class since freshman year, since we change our schedules to match every year. I looked over and Awsten had only checked off two boxes: Greetings and The Numbers  & Alphabet.  
“You know, if you ever need a tutor, I can help you out.” I whispered to Awsten.  
“And why would I need _your_ help?” He replied.  
“I’m a great teacher.” He must’ve thought I implied something else, because he turned almost as red as the stripes on the shirt he was wearing, and goddamn, did it make him look adorable. “I didn't mean it like _that_ , but I might have to teach you something else too.” I winked. If it was possible for him to blush any more, he did it right then.  
“Shut up. I’m supposed to hate you.” He said in monotone. The blush that was previously on his face drained into a glare at me. Well, I guess that tutoring comment was a lost cause. Awsten focused on his paper again and started tracing the letters in pencil, which meant that he was bored. I did the same thing when I became disinterested, so I knew his intentions. It slightly surprised me how I was able to read him so well, even though we had only known each other for less than an hour. Finally, Miss Abbott broke the increasingly awkward silence.  
“Kids, when you're done, bring your papers to me. Awsten, could you come see me, please?”  
Awsten’s countenance changed as he stood and walked over to her desk. A group of girls were talking as Miss Abbott lowered her voice to talk to Awsten privately, so neither Otto or I could hear what she was saying.  
“What do you think they're talking about?” I whispered to Otto, who was coloring in the carvings on the table with his pencil. He shrugged.  
“He's never had this class before, right? Maybe they're talking about that.”  
He nodded. “Why do you care so much?” Oh boy, was there a lot to tell him.  
“Long story.”  
“I’ve got time, dude.”  
I sighed. “After school.” Miss Abbott gestured to something on her computer screen and Awsten nodded.  
“Why are you being so secretive about this thing? You were practically about to burst earlier, and now you're acting like it's not important.”  
“It's not. I said I’ll tell you later.” I had never taken my focus off of Awsten the whole time. He was tapping his foot in a medium tempo while he stood, which gave off a nervous vibe that I replicated. One student got up to turn his paper in, which led to Otto and I getting up as well. I glanced over at his paper and he had checked off all of them but one, the complete opposite of Awsten's paper. We handed them in, meaning we had the majority of class time to ourselves. I took my phone out of my pocket, turned it on silent, and opened up iMessage. I felt like I had to text Maxx and Cody for advice on this, but knowing them, they might make a big deal out of it. I opened my group chat with them, appropriately titled “Two gays and a pan” and started typing.  
“Hey, are either of you two going to the dance tonight?” I sent. Maxx replied in about five seconds saying “yes, if you are” and Cody saying he didn't know. I asked if they wanted to meet after school, explaining that we hadn't seen each other in the longest time and they agreed. It wouldn't be long until I saw them, as the bell rang for the end of the day. Awsten grabbed his stuff from the seat and quickly left without saying goodbye, but he left a small piece of paper. Fortunately, I grabbed it before I walked out with Otto and put it in my pocket to read after I got out of school. We had to walk all the way back to the junior wing of the school in the traffic of all the other students, which was sure to take more than the few minutes everyone described it as. It took us six minutes to get to the junior wing and then another minute or two trying to swim through the sea of juniors in the hallway to our lockers and homeroom. Otto had the locker next to mine.  
“I have plans after school, so I can't walk home today. Sorry, man.” I said, pulling my backpack out of my locker with some difficulty. He looked disappointed, but didn't say anything.  
“It's okay. You're still going to the dance though, right?” He asked. I nodded. “Do you want me to pick you up?”  
“Yeah, that's cool. I gotta go but I’ll see you tonight, dude.” I shoved my binders and textbooks into my bag and zipped it. “Text me when you're gonna pick me up, alright?”  
“Yeah, alright.” I walked away quietly, grabbing my phone and putting my coat on over the jacket I wore. Cody said we would meet at the old hideout where he and I used to hang out almost every day in middle school. We stopped using it when school band and Maxx started taking up too much of his time. I walked out the front entrance when first dismissal was called, and saw Cody and Maxx holding hands on the bench outside the entrance. They stood when they saw me, and their smiles were practically beaming. We hugged and walked away from the crowded scene towards the hideout a few miles away.  
“So, long time no see!” I laughed to rid the silence.  
“Yeah.” Maxx laughed. “What have you been doing?”  
“School stuff, a lot of it. And hanging out with Otto. What have you guys been doing?”  
“Relationship things, really. Stuff like dates and laying in fields together.” Cody smiled. “The world gets so much brighter every day.”  
“That must be nice, seeing in color and stuff,” I shrugged. “I hope I find my soulmate soon.”  
“I think you will.”  
We made small talk the rest of the way, complaining about shitty teachers and grades closing. Maxx and Cody never let go of each other for the entire forty-five minute walk until we got to the forest near our houses. I wondered how they could get so affectionate with each other without getting tired of it. From the beginning of the forest, it was about another five or ten minutes until we found the stream that we crossed in order to get to the hideout. It was becoming overgrown with plants, but I still recognized the fairy houses we built in fourth grade and the little rock men we made.  
“It hasn't changed.” I whispered. My eyes wandered the flat rock that we were standing on.  
“It hasn't. Do you remember what this one was called?” Cody pointed to the biggest rock man out of the five on the ground.  
“Didn't we name that one Zeus The Great Founder Of Rockland? And that one next to him is Alanis, his wife.”  
“Yeah, yeah! I remember now!” Cody laughed. Maxx smiled at seeing his boyfriend so happy.  
“So, what did you wanna tell us?” Maxx was still standing while both Cody and I were kneeling now, examining the fairy houses.  
“Sit down.”  
“Why? Are you gonna tell us you have, like, I don't know, cancer or something?”  
“What? No, of course not!”  
“Then tell us.” Cody intently listened.  
“Okay.” I exhaled loudly. “Well, I found my soulmate.”  
Their eyes widened as it took them a few seconds to process. Maxx was the first to say something.  
“Geoff, oh my god! Who is it?!”  
“How did it happen?!” Cody added.  
“I accidentally ran into him outside the library and I dropped my phone. I went to pick it up and we made eye contact. We talked in the library after he ran away and I think he hates me. His name is Awsten Knight. It's the most cliché thing, I know.”  
Maxx’s countenance changed into one of question. “I thought that kid was a dick.”  
“I thought Cody was a dick until I met him.” I retorted and he laughed. “I think he's dated girls before.”  
“Awsten? Can't say I've never seen him without a girl practically falling all over him.” Cody said. “But that's none of my business.”  
“Yeah, that's all I had to say. Sorry I dragged you guys to the middle of the forest in winter, but it was really important.”  
“It's fine!” Maxx reassured. “Have you told Otto yet?”  
“No, you were the first ones I told because I knew you wouldn't make a huge deal out of it. I was planning to tell him tonight. I hope he doesn't get mad at me because I told you first.”  
“I know him well enough to know that he'll understand. Don't worry about it.”  
“Thanks, guys, really,” I made it clear as we stood to walk home. The dance started a six, so we had a lot of time to kill and sauntered leisurely down the road. Maxx and Cody were holding a conversation by themselves about something I had no interest in, but I pondered how exactly to tell Otto the news.  
The walk in total usually took about twenty minutes, but we reached Cody and I’s neighborhood at four forty-five, about ten minutes longer. Cody and Maxx split to go down to Cody's house, and I continued to walk back home down the broken road that I’ve walked since I was eleven. I glanced at the houses every once in a while, and took note of how they all looked exactly the same. Some had lights in their windows, what I assumed to be a Christian tradition, and others had Christmas trees so bright I could see their lights from the other side of the road. I couldn't complain; my house appeared the same. I stopped, finally, in front of the house that was home to my troubles, mistakes, and achievements. The Wigington residence appeared ridiculously more polished and more festive, because of the season. I stared at the manger in the front yard, mentally lasering holes into it but carefully enough to not hurt baby Jesus. The manger scene was my least favorite thing in the yard, not because of the Christianity associated with it, but the reflections of myself that I saw in it. I walked past leisurely, like usual, and snuck into the house through the back door. My dad, also named Geoff, was gone until Saturday, but I kept doing the same thing. I allowed myself to take a deep breath once more, and stepped upstairs and into my bedroom, my quiet tomb. Yet I couldn't stop thinking about it, about today.  
About Awsten.  
I stumbled to my bed, and let it catch up to me. It hit me like a freight train, and I fell.  
I had fallen in love, and I had hit the ground hard.


End file.
